TY - JOUR
T1 - Brain GABA levels are associated with inhibitory control deficits in older adults
AU - Hermans, Lize
AU - Leunissen, Inge
AU - Pauwels, Lisa
AU - Cuypers, Koen
AU - Peeters, Ronald
AU - Puts, Nicolaas A.J.
AU - Edden, Richard A.E.
AU - Swinnen, Stephan P.
N1 - Funding Information:
S.P.S. is supported by Research Foundation Flanders Grants G0708.14 and G089818N, Excellence of Science Grant 30446199 (MEMODYN), and KU Leuven Research Fund Grant C16/15/070. This study applies tools developed under National Institutes of Health (NIH) Grants R01-EB-016089, R01-023963, and P41-EB015909; R.A.E.E. also receives salary support from these grants. N.A.J.P. receives salary support from NIH Grant K99-MH-107719. We thank René Clerckx for help with construction of the experimental setup.
Funding Information:
S.P.S.issupportedbyResearchFoundationFlandersGrantsG0708.14andG089818N,ExcellenceofScienceGrant 30446199 (MEMODYN), and KU Leuven Research Fund Grant C16/15/070. This study applies tools developed under National Institutes of Health (NIH) Grants R01-EB-016089, R01-023963, and P41-EB015909; R.A.E.E. also receives salary support from these grants. N.A.J.P. receives salary support from NIH Grant K99-MH-107719. We thank René Clerckx for help with construction of the experimental setup.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 the authors.
PY - 2018/9/5
Y1 - 2018/9/5
N2 - Healthy aging is accompanied by motor inhibition deficits that involve a slower process of stopping a prepotent motor response (i.e., reactive inhibition) rather than a diminished ability to anticipate stopping (i.e., proactive inhibition). Some studies suggest that efficient motor inhibition is related to GABAergic function. Since age-related alterations in the GABA system have also been reported, motor inhibition impairments might be linked to GABAergic alterations in the cortico-subcortical network that mediates motor inhibition. Thirty young human adults (mean age, 23.2 years; age range, 18 –34 years; 14 men) and 29 older human adults (mean age, 67.5 years; age range, 60 –74 years; 13 men) performed a stop-signal task with varying levels of stop-signal probability. GABA + levels were measured with magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) in right inferior frontal cortex, pre-supplementary motor area (pre-SMA), left sensorimotor cortex, bilateral striatum, and occipital cortex. We found that reactive inhibition was worse in older adults compared with young adults, as indicated by longer stop-signal reaction times (SSRTs). No group differences in proactive inhibition were observed as both groups slowed down their response to a similar degree with increasing stop-signal probability. The MRS results showed that tissue-corrected GABA + levels were on average lower in older as compared with young adults. Moreover, older adults with lower GABA + levels in the pre-SMA were slower at stopping (i.e., had longer SSRTs). These findings suggest a role for the GABA system in reactive inhibition deficits.
AB - Healthy aging is accompanied by motor inhibition deficits that involve a slower process of stopping a prepotent motor response (i.e., reactive inhibition) rather than a diminished ability to anticipate stopping (i.e., proactive inhibition). Some studies suggest that efficient motor inhibition is related to GABAergic function. Since age-related alterations in the GABA system have also been reported, motor inhibition impairments might be linked to GABAergic alterations in the cortico-subcortical network that mediates motor inhibition. Thirty young human adults (mean age, 23.2 years; age range, 18 –34 years; 14 men) and 29 older human adults (mean age, 67.5 years; age range, 60 –74 years; 13 men) performed a stop-signal task with varying levels of stop-signal probability. GABA + levels were measured with magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) in right inferior frontal cortex, pre-supplementary motor area (pre-SMA), left sensorimotor cortex, bilateral striatum, and occipital cortex. We found that reactive inhibition was worse in older adults compared with young adults, as indicated by longer stop-signal reaction times (SSRTs). No group differences in proactive inhibition were observed as both groups slowed down their response to a similar degree with increasing stop-signal probability. The MRS results showed that tissue-corrected GABA + levels were on average lower in older as compared with young adults. Moreover, older adults with lower GABA + levels in the pre-SMA were slower at stopping (i.e., had longer SSRTs). These findings suggest a role for the GABA system in reactive inhibition deficits.
KW - GABA
KW - Healthy aging
KW - Magnetic resonance spectroscopy
KW - Proactive inhibition
KW - Reactive inhibition
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U2 - 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0760-18.2018
DO - 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0760-18.2018
M3 - Article
C2 - 30064995
AN - SCOPUS:85053082623
SN - 0270-6474
VL - 38
SP - 7844
EP - 7851
JO - Journal of Neuroscience
JF - Journal of Neuroscience
IS - 36
ER -